Rhapsody Streamnotes: May 26, 2016

No time to write an intro today. For some explanations, see the
last month's Music Week posts, somewhere under
here. Still haven't heard Merle Haggard's
1990s Curb albums. Would have done Prince, but he isn't on Rhapsody.
Didn't list Coleman Hawkins' back catalog because it's huge and I've
only added two titles -- nowhere near a complete mop-up. The Joint
Venture album is the only thing I've found by the late avant-trumpet
player Paul Smoker. Festen was a last minute addition, but
I'm glad to have something new to report. Still, all the new A-list
records are jazz. Tell Beyoncé to start sending me her shit.

Most of these are short notes/reviews based on streaming records
from Rhapsody (other sources are noted in brackets). They are snap
judgments based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post
along these lines, back on April 28. Past reviews and more
information are available
here (8163 records).

Bobby Avey: Inhuman Wilderness (2015 [2016], Inner
Voice Jazz): Pianist, plays in Dave Liebman's Expansion group and
has several albums on his own. This has one solo track, three trios,
and four cuts with alto saxophonist John O'Gallagher -- a fine match
for the pianist's own edgy style.
B+(***) [cd]

The Bill Belasco Trio: Three Musicians (2016, Summit):
San Francisco drummer, leads a piano trio, with Denny Berthiaume on
("piano and arrangements") and Chuck Bennett on bass. Standards,
with one original by the bassist. Cover looks like a cover too.
B+(*) [cd]

Ran Blake: Ghost Tones: Portraits of George Russell
(2010 [2015], A-Side): Age 75 when he recorded this, Blake is an
innovative, idiosyncratic, and for me often difficult pianist with
a lot of solo work and duos with vocalists. But his subject here
is one of my all-time favorite jazz masters, one he should know
exceptionally well given that they both taught at New England
Conservatory over several decades. A mix of solo and group pieces
as he picks over key titles from Russell's discography, thoughtful,
testy, and sometimes extraordinary.
B+(***) [dl]

Jane Ira Bloom: Early Americans (2015 [2016], Outline):
Soprano saxophonist, one of the few specialists, seventeenth album since
1980. Postbop, but trio feels exceptionally lively from the start --
helps to have Mark Helias on bass and Bobby Previte on drums.
A- [cd]

Charles Bradley: Changes (2016, Daptone): Retro-soul
singer, third album since 2011 when he was already in his sixties so
you have to figure the James Brown/Wilson Pickett effects were learned
young and have only deepened with age. Something I should be a sucker
for, but impressed as I am, minor nags keep getting in the way.
B+(*)

Marialuisa Capurso/Jean-Marc Foussat: En Respirant
(2016, Fou): Voice (and "effets, objets") and synth (AKS, and "voix,
etc."), three improv pieces recorded live in Berlin. Breathes, but
but doesn't do much more.
B [cd]

Etienne Charles: San Jose Suite (2015 [2016],
Culture Shock): Trumpet player, born in Trinidad, studied at Florida
State, teaches at Michigan State. Fifth album, looks like it was
commissioned by an outfit called San Jose Jazz although he also
checked San Joses in Costa Rica and Trinidad. Some Latin grooves,
but doesn't really take off until the three-part "Speed City,"
introduced by Dr. Harry Edwards talking about the institutional
racism he encountered at San Jose State University, first as an
athlete then as a coach -- crucial history and rousing music.
B+(**) [cd]

Rhys Chatham: Pythagorean Dream (2016, Foom):
Guitarist/trumpeter, roots in post-classical avant-garde (LaMonte
Young, Tony Conrad, Eliane Radigue) although he also pops up in
experimental rock (e.g., no wave) and possibly jazz (if you wish
to take this that way). Instrumental, tends to repeat background
patterns as if gargling them, still they have some fascination.
More generally a subject for further research (as is Conrad and
Radigue -- I have some unplayed records by each).
B+(***) [cd]

Claudia Quintet: Super Petite (2015 [2016], Cuneiform):
Drummer John Hollenbeck's long-running -- eight albums in nineteen years --
bar band, originally named for a conspicuous fan. With soft instruments --
Chris Speed (clarinet, tenor sax), Red Wierenga (accordion), Matt Moran
(vibes), Dres Gress (acoustic bass) -- building on rhythm tracks, most
of their records have been enchanting. This one less reliably, perhaps
because the groove is prone to collapse.
B+(**) [cd]

Lucy Dacus: No Burden (2016, Egghunt): Singer-songwriter
from Virginia, first album, guitar strum is basic but compelling, has
something to sing about.
B+(***)

Dälek: Asphalt for Eden (2016, Profound Lore):
Experimental hip-hop crew from Newark, handful of albums since
1998, moved to a metal label for this, which certainly cranks up
the reverb.
B+(*)

Open Mike Eagle + Paul White: Hella Personal Film Festival
(2016, Mello Music Group): White, I gather, is the beat guy, not that
this is much of a beat album. Eagle is an alt-rapper who keeps things
interesting even when I'm not tuning in closely.
B+(***)

Empirical: Connection (2015 [2016], Cuneiform):
British postbop quartet -- Nathaniel Facey (alto sax), Lewis Wright
(vibes), Tom Farmer (bass), Shaney Forbes (drums) -- fifth album
since 2007. They play fast and hard, and while the sax is a little
rough around the edges, the vibraphonist is a talent deserving
wider recognition.
B+(***) [dl]

Brian Eno: The Ship (2016, Warp): Two pieces, the
title a 21:19 slab of murky ambience, perhaps a death metaphor, or
maybe just deadly boring -- I couldn't help but thinking maybe he's
thinking of that downside he produced for the late David Bowie's
Low. The other is the three-part "Fickle Sun," the initial
18:03 piece rubbing in the sores opened by the opener, the second
blessedly thin, then a rather miraculous 5:18 take of Lou Reed's
"I'm Set Free," which delivers the transcendent moment the rest of
the album so desperately needed. Almost graded much lower.
B+(*)

Orrin Evans: The Evolution of Oneself (2014 [2015],
Smoke Sessions): Pianist, well established since 1996, comes up with
a strong trio with Christian McBride and Karriem Riggins -- two cuts
add Marvin Sewell on guitar. A little less than half originals,
presumably the other tunes have personal significance -- he certainly
plays them that way.
B+(***)

Erik Friedlander: Rings (2016, Skipstone): Got the
title wrong on unpacking, where I listed this as "Black Phebe" --
the name of the cellist's trio (Shoko Nagai on piano and accordion,
Satoshi Takeishi on percussion). Don't know why at his point, as
the cover and spine can only be read as Rings. Title comes
from three pieces that "use live looping at a compositional process"
and jump to a higher energy orbit.
B+(***) [cd]

Kevin Gates: Islah (2016, Atlantic): Gangsta rapper
from Baton Rouge, nominally his studio debut after a whole mess of
mixtapes. Christgau notes "so much [criminal/sexual] detail" and
claims it "has more hooks than a Temptations best-of" but I caught
little if any of that (OK, something about pussy) in two plays, nor
did I notice the single Dan Weiss has been hyping ("Kno One").
B+(*)

Trevor Giancola Trio: Fundamental (2015 [2016],
self-released): Canadian guitarist, probably his debut album, a
trio with Neil Swainson on bass and Adam Arruda on drums, a few
originals but mostly standards ("Just One of Those Things," "You
Go to My Head") and jazz tunes, including two from Elmo Hope.
Nice postbop middle ground.
B+(*) [cd]

Will Goble: Consider the Blues (2015 [2016], OA2):
Bassist, second album, mostly originals, with tenor saxophonist Gregory
Tardy in rip roaring form, Louis Heriveaux on piano, and Dave Potter
on bass. First cut has a vocal by Tabreeca Woodside, a feint they
never follow up on (and just as well).
B+(*) [cd]

Gunwale: Polynya (2016, Aerophonic): Free sax trio,
with Dave Rempis (alto, tenor, baritone) leading, Albert Wildeman on
bass, and Ryan Packard on drums (and electronics). Not familiar with
the latter, but Rempis took over Mars Williams' slot in Vandermark 5,
making a huge impression. He does tend to go ugly here, but there's
more to it.
B+(***) [cd]

Homeboy Sandman: Kindness for Weakness (2016, Stones
Throw): Alt-rapper Angel del Villar, specializes in EPs because that's
what his vinyl fetish usually weighs out as, but this runs 39:10, and
is solid enough. They pretty much all are. Upside: "Speak Truth."
Down: "God."
B+(***)

Mimi Jones: Feet in the Mud (2015 [2016], Hot Tone
Music): Bassist, also sings but less so here than on her previous
two albums. Produced by Luis Perdomo, with Jon Cowherd on piano and
rhodes, Samir Zarif on soprano sax, and Jonathan Barber on drums.
Bouncy postbop.
B+(*) [cd]

The Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra: Storming Through the
South (2016, Summit): Kenton died in 1979. Trumpeter Mike
Vax rounded up the Stan Kenton Alumni Band in 1991 to mark the
50th anniversary of Kenton's debut, and they've hung together
for 25 years now. Kim Richmond is the only name I recognize, and
many of the arrangements are still credited to Kenton -- no
revisionism here. But where the original tended to be extravagant
and pompous, this outfit is much more fun.
B+(*)

Linda Gail Lewis: Heartache Highway (2015 [2016],
Ball and Chain): Jerry Lee's younger sister, cut two records for
Smash when she was 22 -- one Together with the Killer --
then nothing until the only other album I'd noticed, 1990's
International Affair (released in Sweden). Looks like she
has more than a dozen albums since then. This seems to be another
Swedish label -- hard to find anything about it, although Steve
Gibbons and Robbie Fulks seem to be involved. Rockabilly, piano
central, change-of-pace ballad reminds me a bit of Patsy Cline.
B+(***)

Lok 03+1: Signals (2016, Trost): Group name comes from
the 2005 album Lok 03 with married avant-pianists Aki Takase and
Alexander von Schlippenbach and their son Vincent von Schlippenbach, aka
DJ Illvibe (turntables, sampler), with drummer Paul Lovens the plus-one
(part of the Schlippenbach Trio at least since 1972).
B+(**) [bc]

Tony Malaby Paloma Recio: Incantations (2015 [2016],
Clean Feed): Tenor saxophonist, also plays soprano, as a sideman he
often steals the show, but is often more moderate as a leader. This
quartet, named for a 2009 album, has Ben Monder (guitar), Eivind
Opsvik (bass), and Nasheet Waits (drums). Starts self-effacingly
moderate, but catches fire in the end.
B+(***) [cd]

Mexrrissey: No Manchester (2016, Cooking Vinyl):
Ad hoc group of Mexican musicians, including Camilo Lara (Mexican
Institute of Sound) and Sergio Mendoza (Calexico), rearrange a
batch of Morrissey songs. Has some novelty value, although that's
sort of what I thought about the originals, too.
B+(*)

Nick Millevoi: Desertion (2015 [2016], Shhpuma):
Philadelphia-based guitarist, has a couple albums, plans to name
this quartet after the album: Jamie Saft (organ, piano), Johnny
DeBaso (upright and electric bass), Ches Smith (drums), plus a
couple extras on trombone and violin. Guitar has a heavy fusion
ring to it, but group skews more avant, keeping it interesting.
B+(**) [cd]

Myriad 3: Moons (2016, ALMA): Piano trio, Chris
Donnelly in the leader's seat, Dan Fortin on bass and Ernesto
Cervini on drums, with everyone pulling an extra instrument or
two (mostly electric) for variety. Not fusion, but they do like
a good groove.
B+(*) [cd]

Naftule's Dream: Blood (2013 [2016], self-released):
Fifth album from a group led by clarinetist Glenn Dickson, or sixth
if you count the 1992 album by Shirim Klezmer Orchestra that launched
the group name -- Naftule, of course, is the legendary clarinetist
Naftule Brandwein (1884-1963). This one's rather dark and twisty,
especially Andrew Stern's guitar backed by Jim Gray's tuba.
B+(***) [cd]

Oddisee: The Odd Tape (2016, Mello Music Group):
Amir Mohamed el Khalifa, born in DC, father from Sudan, used to
think of him as an underground rapper but this is all instrumental,
and I gather not his first.
B+(*)

Luis Perdomo: Montage (2015 [2016], Hot Tone Music):
Pianist, from Venezuela, based in New York since 1993, ninth album,
solo, not spectacular but grows on you.
B+(*) [cd]

Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: Corpo (2016, Leo):
Liner notes start (I'll spare you the ALL CAPS): "Warning, contains
highly concentrated improvisation. Unless you have engaged in regular
meditation or other immersive activity, you may not want to begin
with a full dose." I'm a fan of both, and have heard their tenor
sax-piano duos (and larger groups) going back to 1996's Bendito
of Santa Cruz, so I figured I could take it. But I guess I'm
too lazy a listener, too easily annoyed.
B+(*) [cd]

Ivo Perelman: Soul (2015 [2016], Leo): Brazilian
tenor sax man plus Matthew Shipp (piano), Michael Bisio (bass), and
Whit Dickey (drums) -- the latter Shipp's regular trio. Everything
jointly credited, so figure improv but at least they came up with
nine titles. No squawk, nothing over the edge, but the sort of tight
avant interplay that keeps circling around on you, rewarding close
attention but pleasurable anyway you take it.
A- [cd]

Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris: Blue (2016, Leo): Morris plays
acoustic guitar here -- not his norm, certainly not powerful enough to
deflect let alone direct the tenor saxophonist in any direction, just
enough to scuff up the edges, adding fractal detail. Which is to say
just enough.
A- [cd]

Ivo Perelman: Breaking Point (2015 [2016], Leo):
Quartet, the other names on the cover but not on the spine: Mat Maneri
(viola), Joe Morris (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Maner can get
on my nerves at times, but generally adds a rich dynamic here.
B+(***) [cd]

ResAUnance: Migration (2014 [2016], FMR): John Bacon
(vibraphone, percussion), Jonathan Golove (electric cello), Erin Gunduz
(voice), Michael McNeill (piano). Two folk songs from Thrace, two pieces
each by Bacon and McNeill. Arty chamber jazz, the vocalist not so hard
to take but I'd rather not. Still impressed by the pianist.
B+(**) [cd]

Dave Rempis/Joshua Abrams/Avreeayl Ra + Jim Baker: Periheleon
(2015 [2016], Aerophonic, 2CD): Cover/spine just gives you last names,
as if these Chicago avant-gardists are household names. Alto/tenor/baritone
sax, bass, drums, plus piano/electronics -- three long pieces, just barely
over the single-disc limit so 43:09 + 40:32. Runs the range of their art,
with Rempis remaining one of the most impressive saxophonist of his time.
A- [cd]

Snarky Puppy: Family Dinner Volume Two (2015 [2016],
Decca): A jazz group of some sort, formed in Denton, Texas in 2004
but now based in Brooklyn. Group itself led by bassist Michael League,
with eighteen members listed, twenty-two guests, plus the group Nola
International. Most pieces have vocals, few jazzy (although you do
get bits of Latin and African).
B-

Snarky Puppy: Culcha Vulcha (2016, Decca): Studio
album, cranks up the jazz-funk grooves, piling guitars and keybs on
so thick the whole thing buckles under the dead weight. Personnel
list comes to twenty-one, few obvious guests, virtually no vocals.
Stripped down to pure shtick, makes me wonder if I haven't cut them
too much slack.
C+

Ron Stabinsky: Free for One (2015 [2016], Hot Cup):
Pianist, had a debut album last year with Jack Wright, recently
joined Mostly Other People Do the Killing. This is an hour of solo
improv, not smashing enough to keep my ears turned in, but not
without interest either.
B+(*) [cd]

Tyla Gang: Stereo Tactics (2013 [2015], Cherry Red):
Singer for the great pub rock band Ducks Deluxe (1972-75), Sean Tyla
did a couple albums as Tyla Gang, then Sean Tyla's Just Popped Out,
then hung it up from 1983 until 2007, when he reorganized his Gang
and flirted with a possible Ducks Deluxe reunion. This retro risks
becoming generic until he checks some politics ("Runaway") and finds
a dramatic break ("Chinee Moon").
B+(*)

Tyla Gang: Live in Stockholm (2014 [2015], Cherry
Red): Don't recognize any song title here, but they play from the
middle of a rock tradition they relentlessly affirm -- well, maybe
one title (worth quoting anyway), "Texas Chainsaw Massacre Boogie."
B+(*)

Greg Ward: Touch My Beloved's Thought (2016,
Greenleaf Music): Alto saxophonist from Chicago, has a couple
previous albums, got a commission for a piece to go with dance
and flashed back to Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the
Sinner Lady. Came up with a tentet with three saxes and
four brass to cover the harmonics and piano-bass-drums to keep
it all moving.
A- [cd]

Matt Wilson's Big Happy Family: Beginning of a Memory
(2015 [2016], Palmetto): Drummer, has fifteen or so albums since 1996
plus numerous side credits -- one of those guys who always seems to be
helping others out. Dedicated this to his late wife, Felicia, who died
at 50 in 2014. Thirteen musicians listed, but doesn't feel like a big
band, probably because the numerous horns express more than arrangements.
B+(***) [cd]

Recent Reissues, Compilations, Vault Discoveries

Fame: Jon Savage's Secret History of Post-Punk 78-81
(1978-81 [2012], Caroline True): British broadcaster/music writer,
wrote England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock and has
assembled at least seven CD compilations. I only recognize a few
things here (Noh Mercy's "Caucasian Guilt" is a find), with the ones
that lean punk packing a lot more punch than the ones that skew towards
industrial/ambient. Would be interesting to read the rationale behind
the picks, which I guess means the picks don't speak for themselves.
B+(**)

Merle Haggard: Best of the Capitol Years (1966-76
[2016], Capitol): The catalog minders return with a new rehash of old
product, much as they've done many times before (1990, 1996, 2002, 2004,
2007, 2009, 2012, and that's just the CD era). This one runs 19 cuts --
the same first 19 on 2007's Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard (which
samples some later material to get to 26 cuts). It has five not on 2002's
20 Greatest Hits, subs the studio versions of "Okie" and "Fightin'
Side," and keeps them in better chronological order.
A

Coleman Hawkins: Intimate: Duo, Trio, Quartet & Quintet
Recordings 1934-38 (1934-38 [2016], Acrobat): The fount of
all worthwhile saxophone playing, as one guide put it, he broke with
big bands in 1934 when he moved to Europe and found himself recording
with small pick-up groups, taking melodic responsibility for whole
songs and driving them in ways no one expected. I wouldn't call these
"intimate," at least in the sense of later "quiet storm" balladeering.
Actually, one tour de force after another.
A-

Allen Lowe: Julius Hemphill Plays the Music of Allen
Lowe (1989-91 [2016], Constant Sorrow): This digital-only
release surfaced on Lowe's Bandcamp without any of his customary
documentation, but a little digging suggests that the music is
from Lowe's first two albums (At the Moment of Impact and
New Tango '92). Hemphill, who died in 1995, played alto
sax on those albums (Lowe played tenor). Interesting music, even
within Hemphill's catalog, although the concept is a little odd.
B+(**) [bc]

Allen Lowe: Louis Armstrong: An Avant Garde Portrait
(1992 [2016], Constant Sorrow): Recorded live at Knitting Factory,
originally released as Mental Strain at Dawn: A Modern Portrait
of Louis Armstrong (1993, Stash), the band included Doc Cheatham
and Robert Rumboltz on trumpet, Paul Austerlitz (clarinet, bass
clarinet), David Murray (bass clarinet, tenor sax), Lowe (alto/tenor
sax), Loren Schoenberg (tenor sax), John Rapson (trombone), and Ray
Kaczynski (drums). Some old, some new, Lowe is clever enough he rarely
tips his hand.
B+(***)

Lyrics Born: Now Look What You've Done, Lyrics Born! Greatest
Hits (1997-2015 [2016], Mobile Home): Tokyo-born Tom Shimura,
grew up in Salt Lake City and Tampa before settling in Berkeley, first
noticed in the duo Latyrx before releasing his solo debut Later
That Day in 2003. I have four (of five) albums at A- or higher,
or six (of seven) counting Latyrx (two cuts here), so it's not like
he needs a compilation to rescue good cuts from bad albums. Includes
the two catchiest cuts from last year's Real People -- my
top-rated album last year, but deprecated by several critics I more
often agree with.
A- [Later: A]

Joey Negro: Remixed With Love by Joey Negro: Vol. Two
(2016, Z, 2CD): British DJ/house producer David Lee, has his alias
on dozens of albums, including this title's 2013 predecessor. Source
material here is mostly 1970s disco. Mostly artists I recall, but
rarely songs -- and while these are certainly danceable, that's only
part of the thrill.
B+(*)

Professor Longhair: Live in Chicago (1976 [2016],
Orleans, EP): Roy Byrd (1918-80) didn't record much until the last
decade of his life, when he finally cashed in with a batch of live
albums, often so moving redundancy didn't matter. This one is of a
piece with them, but on the short side -- seven cuts (not counting
a 0:19 intro), 29:08, doubt if there's anything here the New Orleans
piano master hasn't done many times elsewhere, not that fans will
mind.
B+(**)

Blind Alfred Reed: Appalachian Visionary (1927-29
[2016], Dust-to-Digital): Taking this on faith, as I haven't seen or
heard this luxury package: an 84-page hardcover book by Ted Olson
with the same 20 cuts as Document's Complete Works plus two
tunes by the West Virginia Night Owls, expensive at $30. I can't
say that the packaging is worth the premium, but I have been assured
by Clifford Ocheltree and Phil Overeem that the remastered sound is
a big plus -- so it seems even more irresponsible not to list it
than to grade something I haven't heard.
A-

Old Music

Jane Ira Bloom: Mighty Lights (1982 [1983], Enja):
Soprano saxophonist, had a couple self-released albums before but
this would have made an impressive debut, especially with Charlie
Haden on bass, Ed Blackwell on drums, and a then-little-known Fred
Hersch on piano.
B+(***)

Jane Ira Bloom: Sometimes the Magic (2000 [2001],
Arabesque): Another quartet, again with Mark Dresser (bass) and
Bobby Previte (drums), with Vincent Bourgey taking over on piano --
who sort of vanishes into the mix (where Fred Hersch competed for
your attention).
B+(**)

Jane Ira Bloom: Chasing Paint: Meets Jackson Pollock
(2002 [2003], Arabesque): Hard to describe the inspiration the soprano
saxophonist derives from the painter's abstractions, other than that
her music is exceptionally vivid here, with her high-pitched horn the
perfect tool for flinging squiggles about. And her rhythm section --
Fred Hersch, Mark Dresser, Bobby Previte -- is every bit as inventive.
A-

Jane Ira Bloom: Like Silver, Like Song (2004 [2005],
ArtistShare): Another quartet, with Mark Dresser and Bobby Previte (as
before), but with soprano saxophonist Bloom adding electronics to her
mix, both personally and via keyboardist Jamie Saft. The electronics
tend toward the ambient, which is to say they slow things down, but
not to the point where you lose interest.
B+(***)

Merle Haggard: Strangers (1965, Capitol): Born in
1937 after his parents moved from Oklahoma to California, he was
nine, living in a boxcar in Oildale when his father died, and he
reacted by running wild, escalating through a series of crimes and
detentions until he wound up in San Quentin, just in time to witness
Johnny Cash's famous concert there. He got out in 1960, and found
himself playing music, writing and singing songs -- and turned out
to have one of the most remarkable voices in country music. He cut
a single for Tally Records in 1962, and soon got picked up by Capitol,
where he recut some singles and recorded this first album. He wrote
five pretty good songs here, but the best remembered ones were by
others -- Liz Anderson's title song, Wynn Stewart's "Sing a Sad Song,"
Tommy Collins' "Sam Hill" -- making this a "Bakersfield Sound"
breakthrough.
B+(***)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Swinging Doors and the Bottle
Let Me Down (1966, Capitol): Second album, group named for his
first album and its breakthrough top-ten hit "(My Friends Are Gonna Be)
Strangers," this one working its two top-five singles into the title --
two of the greatest drunkard songs in country music. His Bakersfield
sound was built for bars, and the filler shows he was already rooted
in honky tonk tradition.
A-

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: I'm a Lonesome Fugitive
(1967, Capitol): Liz Anderson was thinking of the David Jansen TV
series when she wrote the title song, but it fit Haggard to a tee.
Haggard wrote the rest of the songs (including "Life in Prison"),
except for Jimmie Rodgers' "My Rough and Rowdy Ways" -- setting up a
terrific ending.
A-

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Branded Man (1967,
Capitol): The title cut is his most personal, which is not to say
exclusive, prison confessional -- his pardon was still a few years
away -- and Tommy Collins' "I Made the Prison Band" fits too, but
"Don't Get Married" is hard to swallow, just one of too many loser
songs.
B+(**)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: The Legend of Bonnie &
Clyde (1968, Capitol): The title song, co-written with Bonnie
Owens, had a tie-in with Arthur Penn's 1967 film, but the outlaw theme
is ditched after 2:04. Strangely, Haggard oversings his ballads here,
even "I Started Loving You Again" -- a song covered over sixty times
the next few years, something that wouldn't happen once he was a star
(and a more iconic singer).
B

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Mama Tried (1968,
Capitol): A great doomed outlaw song, and that theme led him to pick
several rather obvious covers, including "Green Green Grass of Home"
and "Run 'Em Off" and a perfectly fine but unnecessary "Folsom Prison
Blues."
B+(**)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Okie From Muskogee
(1969, Capitol): Recorded live in Muskogee, Oklahoma -- sort of a
victory celebration after his breakout title hit (which he tastefully
saves for last), complete with the mayor giving him a key to the city.
But beyond the presentations, the concert has weak spots -- a feature
for the bassist to sing, the patter about truck drivers and working
men, the long intro to the lame "Hobo Bill," a new song about a dead
soldier called "Billy Overcame His Size" that I doubt they ever played
again -- and while the title song intro helps with context, it also
reminds you that Haggard really didn't know much about Muskogee.
B

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Pride in What I Am
(1969, Capitol): Only one obvious hit, the title song, but accompanied
by several memorable songs, including an uncomfortable libertarian
anthem, a case that the "good old days" are now, and one of the best
Jimmie Rodgers covers I've heard.
A-

Merle Haggard: A Portrait of Merle Haggard (1969, Capitol):
As was his standard practice, give him exceptional hits to kick off two
sides -- "Workin' Man Blues" and "Hungry Eyes" -- and he'll fill out an
album. Works fairly well here until the strings enter and the second side
gets all soggy.
B+(*)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: The Fightin' Side of Me
(1970, Capitol): Another live album, this one from Philadelphia,
which didn't offer him a key to the city but at least came up with
a better sound engineer. He barely touches his own songbook here,
with "Okie From Muskogee" the only repeater from the previous live
album, seguing into his newer, even funnier "jingoistic anthem."
Meanwhile, he covers Bob Wills, Jimmie Rodgers, and does a "Medley
of Impersonations" (Marty Robbins, Hank Snow, Johnny Cash [thrice],
Buck Owens), and Bonnie Owens fails to remember the words to
"Philadelphia Lawyer."
B+(**)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Hag (1971, Capitol):
"Soldier's Last Letter" was written by Redd Stewart and Ernest Tubb,
and repurposed for a much more controversial war, one which had nothing
to do with "keep[ing] America free," no matter how fervently the doomed
hoped. More political is the one that goes "this world's never been in
the awful shape it's in," although the Jesus solution is a cop-out. More
telling is "I believe the Lord knows I'm unhappy/cause I can't be myself
when I'm with you," and "consider all the hurt I'm going through."
B+(***)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Someday We'll Look Back
(1971, Capitol): Nice to be reminded of Roger Miller's "Train of Life"
after the title song, plus two Okie work songs -- "California Cottonfield"
was borrowed, but "Tulare Dust" was so quintessential it served as title
to HighTone's 1994 A Songwriter's Tribute to Merle Haggard.
B+(***)

Merle Haggard: The Best of the Best of Merle Haggard
(1968-71 [1972], Capitol): No idea how they came up with this title,
as this is more like a second volume to 1968's The Best of Merle
Haggard -- no dupes, so they picked up some minor singles, and
offered "Okie From Muskogee" (live) and "Fightin' Side" (studio, for
once) as bookends, like they were something special. Christgau called
this The Safest of the Best.
B+(***)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Let Me Tell You About a Song
(1972, Capitol): Title is the spoken intro to the first side hit, "Daddy
Frank (The Guitar Man)." But then every song starts that way (with a woman
stepping in for the one about Bob Wills' fiddle), and sometimes the intros
expand. Not a good idea in general, but it turns this album very personal.
B+(***)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: It's Not Love (But It's Not
Bad) (1972, Capitol): A batch of relationship songs that don't
come easy and are anything but romantic, and a few about alternatives
that don't work out so well either. Plus a lament for "Dad's Old Fiddle,"
and a song about New York City that isn't as funny as Buck Owens'.
B+(**)

Merle Haggard: Vintage Collections (1965-72 [1996],
Capitol): Circa 1990 Capitol released a series of 20-cut CDs with
themed artwork, The Capitol Collectors' Series, a series that
included many 1950s crooners plus a couple rockers and country artists.
For Haggard they had no problem picking 20 top-five singles from
"Swinging Doors" to "Cherokee Maiden" -- then they let Rhino pick
from the leftovers and they came up with the even better More of
the Best. In 1998 Capitol figured it was time for another trawl
through the archives, coming up with their Vintage Collections --
also 20-cuts, but not as many titles. Somewhat perversely, they only
repeated eight titles (swapping in live versions of "Okie From Muskogee"
and "Fightin' Side"), and they picked eight non-singles, including
obscurities like "They're Tearing the Labor Camps Down" and "Family
Bible." Nothing terribly wrong here, but much better compilations are
possible, as shown by both of the above and the near-definitive 2007
Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard. And do beware of non-Capitol
(non-MCA, non-Legacy) compilations, which are likely to have inferior
re-recordings of his old hits.
B+(**)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: If We Make It Through
December (1974, Capitol): Only three original songs here,
the title one of his biggest hits, the other two a bit tedious
(or do I mean sanctimonious? -- one on "love and honor," the
other a gospel). On the other hand, credit him as the only one
I've heard to credibly cover Lefty Frizzell, and he owns Floyd
Tillman's "This Cold War With You."
B+(**)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Merle Haggard Presents His
30th Album (1974, Capitol): That's just three per year for a
decade, although Wikipedia counts this as only his 20th studio album --
figure several live albums, a compilation or two, and instrumental
joints by the Strangers, whose very small print I dropped from the
title if not the attribution -- that actually seams to be common
practice. Draws on bluegrass for "Old Man From the Mountain," waxes
poetic on "Things Aren't Funny Anymore," touches on blues and honky
tonk and western swing and ventures south of the border. Maybe the
title suggests he cuts corners to get a record out, but he doesn't
cut them here.
A-

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Keep Movin' On (1975,
Capitol): Three hits, none of which I'd recognize as a Haggard song save
for his unique voice (actually, one is Dolly Parton's "Kentucky Gambler").
The disconnect is furthered by an original, "Life's Like Poetry," which
you're more likely to recall in Lefty Frizzell's cover. The Nashville
production doesn't help, until the closer, "Man's Gotta Give Up a Lot,"
where Haggard turns on his best Lefty impersonation.
B

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: It's All in the Movies
(1976, Capitol): One single, always found it rather sweet but at least
it's clearly him, as is the not-quite-jingoistic "Let's Stop Pretending,"
but he seems to be having trouble bagging his limit, resorting to Bob
Wills and Dolly Parton on the homestretch.
B+(*)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: My Love Affair With Trains
(1976, Capitol): Eleven train songs, none by Jimmie Rodgers, only one by
Haggard ("No More Trains to Ride"), the concept stitched together with
narration and sound effects.
B

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: The Roots of My Raising
(1976, Capitol): Haggard should have written the title tune but Tommy
Collins, practically his alter ego, channeled him perfectly. Haggard,
in fact, only wrote one song here, but when he saw "roots" in the title
he boned up on Jimmie Rodgers (two songs), Lefty Frizzell (a marvelous
"I Never Go Around Mirrors"), and Bob Wills ("Cherokee Maiden") --
actually, Cindy Walker wrote it, and Haggard turned it into a hit.
B+(***)

Merle Haggard and the Strangers: A Working Man Can't Get
Nowhere Today (1975-76 [1977], Capitol): Came out a few
months after Haggard's first MCA album, so technically a collection
of leftovers but actually one of his strongest Capitol albums. "I'm
a White Boy" seems, uh, dated, which may be why such a catchy thing
never caught on, but the title song is truer today than ever. And
the filler -- which includes "Blues Stay Away From Me," "Moanin' the
Blues," and "Blues for Dixie" -- has rarely been sung better, and
that's saying something.
A-

Merle Haggard: 20 Greatest Hits (1966-76 [2002],
Capitol): A pretty good intro sampler without touching any of his
post-Capitol catalog (as 2007's 26-cut Hag: The Best of Merle
Haggard does), although you can always quibble on these things.
A-

Merle Haggard: Ramblin' Fever (1977, MCA): After twelve
years with Capitol, Haggard divorced Bonnie Owens and moved to Nashville
for a short stint with MCA before moving on to Epic in 1981. He wrote
the title cut and co-wrote one more, but not "If We're Not Back in Love
by Monday," which always struck me as one of his signature songs. No
roots here, and too many strings, but he could really turn a ballad.
B+(*)

Merle Haggard: My Farewell to Elvis (1977, MCA):
Rushed out in October after Presley died in August, with an opening
song by Haggard ("From Graceland to the Promised Land") leading into
an oddly amusing "In the Ghetto" followed by '50s rockers, "Blue
Christmas," and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" Haggard does a fair
impersonation with the Jordanaires helping out but if you want a
record that sounds like Elvis, there are obvious alternatives.
B-

Merle Haggard: The Way I Am (1980, MCA): After the
Sonny Throckmorton title song comes "Sky-Bo" -- too big a conceptual
stretch to work as a song. Then a bunch of stuff I've already forgotten,
until the home stretch where you get "It Makes No Difference Now" and
three Ernest Tubb classics. Curious how Haggard replicates Tubb's pace
and intonation, invoking the original while cleaning up that notorious
nasal twang.
B+(**)

Merle Haggard: Back to the Barrooms (1980, MCA):
More drinking song, practically a sub-genre within country music,
one he made his mark in early ("Swinging Doors," "The Bottle Let Me
Down"), so no big surprise he'd pick that as an album theme -- even
if this didn't coincide with a divorce and too much drinking. "Gin
and Misery" is indeed miserable, something I blame on the string-laden
production. But the budget didn't allow for Jimmy Bowen to ruin the
entire album, so eventually Haggard rights it -- with one from Hank
Jr., his own tribute to Tommy Collins, and one more bar classic, "I
Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink."
B+(*)

Merle Haggard: Rainbow Stew: Live at Anaheim Stadium
(1980 [1981], MCA): Moving on to Epic, Haggard sloughed off the two
albums he still owed to MCA with a gospel set and this live joint.
Starts with four songs from Back to the Barrooms then starts
to have fun, probing the back catalogue, breaking for a single with
the title cut -- hearing it today makes me think it would work as
Bernie's campaign theme song -- a blue yodel and the 3:48 "Fiddle
Breakdown." Closes with a remarkable "Sing Me Back Home," where
even an audience geared to party recognizes something solemn.
B+(***)

Merle Haggard: Big City (1981, Epic): After seven
1977-80 albums with MCA, first album with Epic, with Haggard penning
(or co-credited) with eight of ten songs. Most look backwards, which
is where he's most comfortable.
B+(**)

Merle Haggard and George Jones: A Taste of Yesterday's Wine
(1982, Epic): Label mates at last, so why not? Produced by Billy Sherrill,
who assumed the magic would just happen. It doesn't.
B

Merle Haggard: Going Where the Lonely Go (1982, Epic):
Mellowing out, although the two songs from sometime-wife Leona Williams
sound like something he was forced to record by couples counseling
("You Take Me for Granted" and "Someday You're Gonna Need Your Friends
Again"). And "Why Am I Drinkin'" can't be a healthful sign.
B+(*)

Merle Haggard: That's the Way Love Goes (1983, Epic):
Title song from Lefty Frizzell, sets the tone for about as normal a
set of love ballads as he's ever done, unspectacular in every way but
the voice.
B+(*)

Merle Haggard: It's All in the Game (1984, Epic):
Freddy Powers wrote or co-wrote five of ten songs, Haggard having a
hand in three but only one solo credit. The covers lean mawkish,
with the pairing of "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and "To All the
Girls I've Loved Before" particularly creepy, but the nod to the
late Ernest Tubb is spot on.
B+(*)

Merle Haggard: Kern River (1985, Epic): The river in
question runs from the slopes of Mt. Whitney through deep canyons down
to Bakersfield in the south end of the San Joaquin Valley. The song
is about a death in that river, and is suitably gloom. The rest of the
album meanders rather than rushes, with "Big Butter and Egg Man" a
curious cover, and not the only one that swings.
B+(*)

Merle Haggard: Amber Waves of Grain (1985, Epic):
Short (27:44) live album built around Freddy Powers' Japan-bashing
title track ("would we buy our bread and butter from the Toyota
man/would an Idaho spud be stamped 'Made in Japan'"), with three
old hits ("Mama Tried," "Okie From Muskogee," "Workin' Man Blues")
worked into medleys, two lesser-known oldies, and "American Waltz"
to close. Inoffensive compared to the Reagan era, but insubstantial
too.
B-

Merle Haggard: A Friend in California (1986, Epic):
A fairly solid album, with six originals, a cover of Floyd Tillman's
"This Cold War With You," and Freddy Powers' gentle title song, all
carried by his voice and the band's practiced swing.
B+(**)

Merle Haggard: Out Among the Stars (1986, Epic): Two
singles here peaked at 21 and 58, a bit better than 1985's Amber
Waves of Grain (36 and 60) but a big drop from previous years
(like three number one country hits in 1984). Nothing bad here, but
the only one I really loved was his Dixieland take on "Pennies From
Heaven" -- shows he could have been one helluva jazz singer if he
had went that way.
B

Merle Haggard/George Jones/Willie Nelson: Walking the Line
(1987, Epic): Note that none of the songs feature all three singers,
and while I haven't tracked them all down those I have appeared on
previous duo or solo albums: two each from Haggard's 1982 duos, one
with Nelson from Jones' 1979 My Very Special Guests. All the
others are songs I recognize, even if I don't recall where. Not bad,
but something of a fraud.
B-

Merle Haggard: 5:01 Blues (1989, Epic): Sobering
thought that the song that perks your ears up here is "Sea of
Heartbreak" -- shows that he could have carried on as a cornball
hack until we lost all interest -- but he recovers a bit at the
end with "A Thousand Lies Ago" and "Somewhere Down the Line.' As
it was, this was his last album for Epic, and he entered a lost
decade -- only three albums on Curb in the 1990s, a mere ten
percent of his prime decade. Then in 2000 he rediscovered himself
as a grizzled old man, picked up by the same alt-rock label that
had resuscitated Tom Waits.
B

Coleman Hawkins and Chu Berry: Tenor Giants (1938-43
[2000], Polygram): Part of a series of compilations from Milt Gabler's
Commodore Records (founded 1938 and folded into Decca after WWII), not
sure how I missed picking up this particular one. (I recommend the 2-CD
The Commodore Story and single-artist sets by Eddie Condon and
Lester Young, probably others if I racked my brain -- not an especially
good period for Billie Holiday but not to be avoided.) These were scraps:
two sessions each for Hawkins and Berry, none together. Berry, who died
young (1908-41) played in the Fletcher Henderson and Cab Calloway bands,
but doesn't have much as a leader. His sets here are fine, and Hawk's --
no surprise -- are even better.
B+(***)

Joint Venture: Ways (1989 [1990], Enja): Group name
has been used many times (Discogs lists them as number 10), but this
particular one recorded three 1987-94 albums, the principals being:
Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax), Paul Smoker (trumpet), Drew Gress (bass),
and Phil Haynes (drums). Somewhat hit-and-miss, although both horns
have hot streaks.
B+(***)

Bonnie Owens and Merle Haggard With the Strangers: Just
Between the Two of Us (1966 [2015], Capitol): Originally
recorded for Tally but picked up and released as part of the deal
that brought Haggard to Capitol. Not sure if this was the original
attribution -- aside from the 2015 digital-only release, the only
cover scan I'm seeing is a 2000 reissue on King that lists Haggard
first. She was born Bonnie Campbell, started singing in 1947 and
married Buck Owens in 1948, leaving around 1951. She met Haggard
much later, married him in 1965, divorced him in 1978. She released
six solo albums 1965-70, this one duet album, and backup up until
their divorce and some years afterward. Nothing special, but they
do sound good together.
B+(**)

Blind Alfred Reed: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological
Order (1927-1929) (1927-29 [2012], Document): Old-time country
fiddler-singer, best known for the Depression Era classic "How Can a
Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live." Dust-to-Digital has a new edition,
Appalachian Visionary, which remasters these twenty songs (plus
two from the West Virginia Night Owls), packaged in a fancy 84-page
hardcover book, but this is the set I found, and I can't complain about
the sound. Several classics I recognize here, including a vision of
heaven ("There'll Be No Distinction There") stunningly racist ("we'll
all be white in that heavenly light") and sexist ("no aggravating women
to boss the men around") and more jaw-droppers I had missed ("Woman's
Been After Man Ever Since." Catchy in a primitive way, and sometimes
you should face history warts and all.
A-

Matt Wilson: Arts and Crafts (2000 [2001], Palmetto):
Another quartet, more conventional with piano (Larry Goldings),
bass (Dennis Irwin), and one horn -- Terell Stafford on trumpet --
the album the namesake/group he would return to three more times.
B+(***)

Matt Wilson Quartet: Humidity (2002 [2003], Palmetto):
Back to two saxes plus Yosuke Inoue's acoustic and electric bass, only
with Jeff Lederer replacing Joel Frahm on tenor/soprano sax -- closer
in tone and dynamics to Andrew D'Angelo (alto sax/bass clarinet). They
sound like a double-barrel shotgun edition of Ornette Coleman -- not
"double your fun" but at least some sort of approximation.
A-